AUGUSTA — A proposed ban on foam food and beverage containers in Maine continues to move forward in the State House.

On Tuesday, the Maine Senate advanced legislation that would ban restaurants, coffee shops, food trucks, grocery stores and other “covered establishments” from using polystyrene containers as of January 2021. Hospitals, seafood shippers and stores that sell pre-packaged meat would be exempt from the ban.

Supporters contend such bans reduce pollution caused by packaging that does not biodegrade and that is not currently recycled in Maine.

The bill faces additional votes and could face more scrutiny when it returns to the Senate. But the measure passed the House on a largely party-line, 87-51 vote last week.

The administration of Gov. Janet Mills supported a statewide ban on polystyrene containers – also known by the trade name Styrofoam – during the committee review. If enacted, the bill would make Maine among the first states nationwide to prohibit single-use food and drink containers made from polystyrene.

More than a half-dozen communities in Maine, including Portland and South Portland, already have local ordinances banning foam food and beverage containers.

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